1971 P bass value

[Dallyd31]

I'm looking at a 1971 P bass at a local shop. It plays awesome, sounds great and is very well worn. The pots have been changed but other than that, all original. Pickup reads 10.5 ohms.

I think they are asking a bit much but I wanted to get an opinion. I love the well worn look, but it doesn't devalue it

Thoughts

 

[Joe Nerve]

I'm not a vintage Fender guy, so I should probably keep my mouth shut - but if I don't find important threads to respond to, I'm going to have to help my wife scrub tiles in the bathroom.

$2000.

 

[Ghastly]

Is that an aftermarket or custom second tugbar screwed into the body above the bridge? If so, and with the swapped pots (and no other issues), I'd say in the $1200+ range.

 

[Dallyd31]

Yeah. Aftermarket (very old) Tugbar. On reverb they list values for a 1971 from $2400 on the low end to about $3200 on the high end.

They are asking $2900

 

[nostatic]

Some of us don't really consider '71 to be vintage (and many of the instruments sucked pretty hard), but the market is what the market is. If the bass is lightweight and plays/sounds amazing I *might* pay $2K, but you probably can get a better instrument elsewhere, likely a new Fender P-bass.

The prices for the post-CBS basses have been driven up by people who want to say they have a "vintage Fender" and want the look. There were a few really good basses made in that period, but there was a high percentage of crap. In fact pre-CBS has plenty of dogs as well, but there was a higher percentage of keepers, plus pre-CBS has been a defacto "collectable" marker for decades now.

Depends what your goals are. If you want a good player, look elsewhere. $2900 is insane imho but ymmv. If it's gotta be a '70's Fender then you can probably find another one cheaper. Plenty out there...

 

[Dallyd31]

It is pretty light (just over 8lbs), great player, sounds great...but does have the non original tugbar and new pots...and well worn ( which looks cool in my opinion) Its a great bass, but I don't want to over pay. Just wanted to get some opinions

 

[timber22]

From what I've seen (and I do not claim to be an expert) $2900 is not far off the market, but probably on the higher end. Others who watch the vintage Fender market closely can give a better opinion.

 

[RyanOh]

There's a very nice condition 1976 Fender P at a premium vintage shop near me and they are asking $2,300. I agree with others that $2,900 is very high...and points off for the extra screwed in tugbar.

Since you're in Ontario..is there a currency exchange rate to factor in?

 

[jthisdell]

I have had my 71 since 76 and no, it does not suck hard and is not crap. The neck is still true and it plays well and stays in tune beautifully. I replaced my bridge and pickup (kept the originals), replaced the nut, the pick guard a couple of times and the pots a couple of times (the cap on the tone control actually caught fire during one gig).

IMHO a good P from that era in reasonably good shape and not modded in a negative way would be in the 2-2500 range.

 

[Dallyd31]

For reference. Interesting if nothing else

Fender Precision Bass 1971 Sunburst Price Guide

 

[nostatic]

I have had my 71 since 76 and no, it does not suck hard and is not crap. The neck is still true and it plays well and stays in tune beautifully.

Note I didn't say they all sucked - just that a lot of them did. A few years after the CBS purchase the factory was turning out really inconsistent instruments. I was working at Guitar Center back in 1980 and played hundreds of Fenders. There were some gems, but mostly not so much. I remember in the late 80's going to GC and literally playing 30 different Strats to find one that was "special." There were a lot of years where it was totally hit or miss.

If you've got one you love - all is good. But if I was buying one now (and I've looked from time to time), $2900 would not go from my wallet to a 70's P-bass unless it was one of the best instruments I'd ever played. I'd rather spend $1500 on a good new one or even $1800 on a Nash if I wanted the look. Or maybe a killer 70's P as I'm a sucker for the black pick guard. But not pushing $3K. However, as always, YMMV.

 

[bluesblaster]

My 69' has that luscious yummy tone that gives me a warm feeling all over, Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ... yeah that's the stuff

As for the '71, looks pretty beat but if it plays and sounds like a million damn dollars than make a reasonable offer (hint) 2.9K is too much, good luck

 

[denton57]

2000-2100 with that tugbar and pots.

 

[Flaked Beans]

Yeah. Aftermarket (very old) Tugbar. On reverb they list values for a 1971 from $2400 on the low end to about $3200 on the high end.

They are asking $2900

Add another $1000 and get this P bass. Thank me later.

PS.
You can get a much better 100% original '70s P bass for less than $2900.

 

[bobyoung53]

I'm looking at a 1971 P bass at a local shop. It plays awesome, sounds great and is very well worn. The pots have been changed but other than that, all original. Pickup reads 10.5 ohms.

I think they are asking a bit much but I wanted to get an opinion. I love the well worn look, but it doesn't devalue it

Thoughts

I bought my first P bass brand new in 71, not sure if it was a 71 though but it's nice to see what it would look like if I had kept it, the place I bought it at (Fitchburg Music) had sunburst, sunburst and sunburst fenders from what I can remember.

 

[PortlandBass77]

$2900 is wayyyy too steep.... that is worth more like $1500 - $2000 depending on the location.

 

[40Hz]

Nobody reads forum rules anymore eh?

Since listing something for sale in the classifieds is restricted to supporting members, but buying from them was open to any member I always assumed a similar logic applied to the restriction about asking valuation questions. Which is to say it only applied to something you owned and were thinking about selling or buying off the classifieds - not something you were merely wondering about buying, or you just saw somewhere else.

I don't see anything in the rules that specifically says one way or the other. The wording is a little vague. But my interpretation would be consistent with the TB classified rules which is where the rule you're alluding to is found:

If you want to post your 'for sale' or 'wanted' text in your signature, a Supporting Membership is required. "What's it worth"/price check posts are limited to Supporting Members.

I guess only an Admin could say for sure. But I think that rule was intended to apply more to one of those "feeler" posts rather than what the OP is asking.

 

[Tim1]

I would be buying a 71 J or P as a player rather than a collector. Just can't see seventies on as vintage. If it sounds and plays for you 1k plus better than a more modern one then by all means buy it.

 

[REMBO]

I like the bass... i'd pay $2000 - $2100 tops for that one if it's good... you can get a set of pots for about $100+ if you wanna put it back to original.

 

[Iridescentone]

Cool bass but I think $2900 is too high for that one. For that price you can score a super nice '71 P example if you shop around.

The early 70's P basses were still very good, as far as Fenders go. CBS hadn't screwed them up yet like they did to the Jazz bass. A '71 P bass does not fall into the "70's Fenders were crap" stereotype, and is not a whole lot different than a pre-CBS model, apart from finish and decal. So if you believe in the vintage magic (I don't) you'll still get it from a 45 year old Fender.

But, if you want a vintage Fender (and a '71 is a "vintage" Fender) that one definitely has "the look". I just think it's priced too high, and if you decided to sell it six months from now for some reason, I doubt you'd get anywhere near that much for it. Good luck.